During the Civil War
Gratiot Street Military Prison was operated in St. Louis, Missouri by the Union
army. Gratiot was unique in that it was used not only to hold Confederate
prisoners of war, but spies, guerillas, civilians suspected of disloyalty, and
even Federal soldiers accused of crimes or misbehavior. The prison also was
centered in a city of divided loyalties. Escapees could find refuge in homes not
even half a block away. Many of the most dangerous people operating in the
Trans-Mississippi passed through its doors. Some escaped in dramatically risky
ways; others didn't and lost their lives at the end of a Union rope, or before a
firing squad.

Excerpt
from the upcoming book:

The
building that was to become Gratiot Street Prison was a large brick structure
with two wings. The northern wing (along Eighth Street) had been the medical
college. Abutting the end of the northern wing was the Christian Brothers
Academy. The southern wing (at the corner of Eighth and Gratiot) had been the
residence of the McDowell family.

Between
the two wings stood a distinctive, octagonal tower, three stories in height. The
first story, the “round room”, was half underground and was used in part as
a recreation room, part dormitory. The second story which had been the
college’s amphitheater, was a single large room often used as a convalescent
hospital. It was sixty feet in diameter, having 2,826 square feet of floor space
with sixteen foot ceilings. The north and south wings of the building were
joined at this level. In April of 1863 quarters for female prisoners were
constructed in the “round room” though they were used only until a separate
“female prison” was established in a building on the other side of Gratiot
Street.

A
third story was added to the tower that was accessible only from a long outside
staircase on the western side of the building. This third story contained four
“strong rooms” that held from one to fifteen men each. The rooms were
divided by a cross hallway that was constantly patrolled by a guard who did not
carry keys to the rooms. In these rooms were held the highest risk
prisoners—those under sentence of death, or with a record of escapes. At times
ordinary citizens arrested for drunkenness, seditious comments, or—in the
martial law atmosphere of St. Louis—for no stated reason at all, would find
themselves held in these rooms.

Absalom
Grimes, who spent the majority of 1864 in these rooms, said, “In those
stirring war days no man was of importance or standing until he had been locked
up in Gratiot Street prison at least a few days… The citizens referred to
would be rounded up about town and locked up without charges, apology, or
explanation and after being boarded for from one week to two months they would
be called before the provost marshal and presented with the oath of allegiance
to the United States, which they had to sign without question, no matter how
great the effort.”

Confederate
prisoners of war not under sentence of death would be put in these rooms as a
punishment. Captain Griffin Frost, who spent fourteen months in Gratiot Street
Prison, made some inappropriate remarks that “excited the dander of a self
important little official” who had him locked in with the condemned prisoners
for the night. It was a “night of horrors,” Frost said. “I could hear the
rattling of chains, and the thumping of balls, every time the poor fellows would
turn over on their pallets of straw. They seemed cheerful enough when awake, but
the moaning and groaning in their sleep told a story which their manly spirits
could not hide.”

The
first floor of the south wing (there was no basement or underground portion in
this wing) was used by prison officers. There were four rooms on this level, an
office with an adjoining dining room for use by prison officials, and across the
hall two parlor rooms that were converted for use for prisoners. A large porch
ran the length of the wing.

At
first the second story of the old McDowell residence wing was used to house
prison guards. They were moved to a row of buildings on the other side of Eighth
Street known as Johnson Barracks. The second story classrooms were then used
mainly to hold Confederate officers.

The
lowest level of the north wing, half underground, held cooking and washing
facilities, and a dormitory. The second story held a large dormitory room,
“the square room,” of approximately 70 by 60 square feet, and a dining room
that had been converted for use from the medical college dissection room.

The
upper level of the north wing was the prison hospital, with the attic serving as
the dead room. Two nearby residences served to provide additional hospital
space, as did part of the round room in the octagonal tower, when needed.

A
long, narrow yard ran along the western side of the prison, surrounded by a
fifteen feet high wooden fence. The yard was divided by a narrow, guarded
passage about eighty feet long so that different groups of prisoners could be
kept apart.

The
prison had a dungeon described by Frost as “the darkest pit of the prison.,”
and “a damp unhealthy hole, with a strong offensive smell.” Though
used for punishments, the dungeon was not considered secure enough for long-term
confinement.

Adjoining
Gratiot Street Prison to the north was the Christian Brother Academy. Numerous
escapes took place when prisoners cut through the wall into the Academy. In all
cases the escaped prisoners were escorted through the building and show the exit
without hindrance.

The
neighborhood surrounding the prison created an unusual backdrop for such a
facility. It was in a reasonably wealthy residential neighborhood. General
Fremont’s headquarters was at the corner of Eighth Street and Chouteau Avenue,
just one block from the prison. Across the street was the home of Judge
Harrison, a southern-sympathizing family that, nevertheless, were friends of
James O. Broadhead, the Union Provost Marshal General who is reported as having
said that every damned abolitionist in the country ought to be hung. On Eighth
Street between Chouteau Avenue and Gratiot Street lived the Bull family. Son,
William, said, “Our family and many other families in the neighborhood
frequently sent food and other necessities to the prisoners and any that escaped
found a place of refuge in my father’s house, although if discovered my
father’s life might have been the penalty.”

So
numerous were the southern sympathizing households in the area that escaping
prisoners could successfully vanish within a block of the prison. This created a
situation unlike any other surrounding a major Civil War prison.

After
the May 1861 success of General Lyon, Joseph McDowell and one son were among
those who fled south. May 31, 1861 his medical college building was searched for
munitions, the building confiscated by the Federal government, and remained
under Union military control for the remainder of the war. At first the building
was used as a barracks, then in December of 1861 McDowell Medical College was
converted for use as a military prison under the command of Major General Henry
Halleck. Three wagon-loads of human bones, used in anatomy study, were removed
from the basement. Cooking facilities and bunks were installed, and iron bars
were put on the windows. December 22, 1861 the first prisoners arrived.At first it was still called “McDowell’s College,” but by mid-1862
it had been rechristened “Gratiot Street Military Prison.”